150 Muscle Building Tips

2) Eat your biggest meal of the day about 30 to 60 minutes after you lift weights.

3) Get strong! There are no weak bodybuilders. You don't have to become a powerlifter, but you do need to dramatically improve your strength over what it is now.

4) Squats are king of the muscle builders, and they are not bad for your knees unless your form is horrible and/or you are half-squatting.

5) Deadlift. If squats are king, deadlifts are second in command. They are not bad for your back unless your form is horrible.

6) Learn proper form. Read every article, and watch every video you can on proper exercise form. There is no excuse for having sub-par squat and deadlift form.

7) Balance your upper body work. This means equal effort for chest, back and shoulders. Stop doing 7 exercises for chest and only lat pull downs for back. Balance will keep you healthy, strong and help to stave off shoulder issues.

8) Beginners...stop training like advanced lifters, using advanced splits and training techniques. They are not needed. What you need is to get strong on the basic compound lifts more than anything.

9) Beginners...stop adding training volume. Having 3 bicep days per week isn't going to help. You need to get strong right now, not fatigue yourself with endless sets.

10) Stop believing that muscle building is rocket surgery. It isn't. Get stronger, eat enough food and stay persistence.

11) Stop missing workouts.

12) Stop complaining about muscle soreness. It's part of the game. Don't miss workouts because of it. No excuses - get to the gym.

13) Stop complaining about every ache, pain or strain. Lifting weights is hard, and a man's game. You're going to feel off occasionally. No excuses - get to the gym.

14) Proper muscle building nutrition is much more than broccoli, rice and chicken breasts. Eat a variety of whole foods each week.

15) Eat more red meat.

16) Eat more eggs, including the yolks. Egg yolks are nutritionally dense.

23) Having trouble reaching your calorie goals? Snack on almonds and nuts in between meals.

24) Beginners...stop obsessing about muscle confusion. You won't plateau for years and years. Confuse your muscles with more weight.

25) Stop changing workouts every 2 weeks. This is a huge waste of time. You're spending more time adapting to the specific conditioning requirements of the workout than you are building muscle.

26) Obsess about keeping your abs and undereat to stay lean, and that's all you'll ever be: skinny with abs.

27) Learn to evolve your training based on needs rather than making random workout changes.

28) Industry standard bodybuilding workouts contain a high percentage of nonsense. Ever notice how 95% of these workouts never tell you how to add weight? Guess what - adding weight is the cornerstone of progress and results.

29) Not all supplements are bad, but some supplement claims can be. Learn the difference.

30) Very few muscle building topics are black or white. Balance what you read with what advanced, successful lifters are using.

31) Science can help, but training is still an art. Everybody is different. Try new things based on science, but tweak them to fit your personal needs.

32) Anyone that insists a topic or training concept is 100% black or white should be approached with caution. Different things work for different lifters.

33) Progression of weight is the magic muscle building key.

34) Why does every workout seem to work? Because a lifter who is dedicated, eats right and gets stronger can thrive on even the most unorganized muscle building workout.

36) Eat 90% healthy, whole foods. Allow some of your calories to be fun calories, so you can stay sane and a member of the human race.

37) Just because someone has a six pack doesn't mean they know how to build muscle. Learn the difference between a diet expert and good muscle building advice.

38) Squats above parallel are dangerous (bad for the knees).

39) 20 rep squats are insane and amazing. Try them.

40) Have more sex. It's good for you.

41) Perform cardio 3 times a week for overall health. better health is never a bad thing.

42) Cardio will not limit your gains. Only poor effort in the gym and a weak diet will limit your gains.

43) A great back training combination includes the deadlift, a row, and a lat exercise like pullups, rack chins or lat pulldowns.

44) Dips are underused but potent. They were once considered the upper body squat. Don't underestimate their ability to pack on chest and tricep mass.

45) Find abs exercises that allow you to increase resistance, like weighted situps or cable crunches.

46) Stubborn calves? Try heavy, low rep, high volume work for several months as a change of pace to high rep sets.

47) Most bulks that result in excessive fat gain and little muscle gain happen because 90% of the emphasis is placed upon the diet. A bulk is only going to work if you train insane. Go crazy with compound exercises and building strength so you can maximize muscle growth without wasting those extra calories.

48) Eat as many fruits and veggies as you want. Red, green and yellow colors equal plenty of nutrition.

49) The body needs sodium. Don't under-consume salt.

50) Having a proper sodium/potassium balance is very important for overall health. Instead of worrying about salt, make sure you are taking in enough potassium.

57) Don't discount fullbody workouts. Prior to the steroid era they built some amazing physiques. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger himself was weaned on fullbody routines

58) Heavy rows are the best rear delt builders.

59) Isolation exercises stalling and becoming hard to add weight without compromising form? Switch to a machine isolation exercise instead; one that allows a higher range of progression.

60) Perform your compound exercises first while you are fresh.

61) Training for failure is not necessary, and generally involves more risk than reward. Stop a set when you feel like you might fail on the next rep.

62) Don't train with poor form. If your exercise form starts to deteriorates during a set, stop the set.

63) Performing the bench press with your arms flared out at 90 degrees is one of the worst things you can do for your shoulders. Being your elbows in to about a 30-60 degree angle, give or take.

64) Don't bounce bench press reps off your chest. This is dangerous in many ways.

65) Don't curl in the squat rack. The squat rack is sacred, and for squatting.

66) When bench pressing make sure your elbows are directly over your wrists. With your arms at a 30-60 degree angle from your side, this will help you find a natural grip width.

67) Close grip bench presses are NOT performed with your hands 6 inches apart. This is a good way to injure your wrists. Tuck your elbows at your side, and make sure your wrists are over your elbows. This will help you find the proper width.

96) Don't trust everything you read on the Internet. Even this article. Research and try things for yourself.

97) Don't discount upper lower splits.

98) When looking at bodypart volume, consider weekly sets. You could do something like 9-15 sets one day a week, 5-8 sets twice a week, or 3-5 sets 3x a week.

99) There are no magic number of sets and reps.

100) How many sets should you do? Use the "one hour guideline." As long as you are training hard and keeping your workouts around an hour, you will be performing a sensible number of sets.

101) The stronger you get, the more using higher rep sets for compound lifts becomes a solid way of training for muscle building.

102) Don't be afraid to take a complete week away from the gym every 8-12 weeks. You won't shrivel up and lose all your muscle. In fact, you'll heal some nagging aches and pains and probably train better when you come back.

103) Intermediate lifters can use a lighter week every 3-4 weeks. Call it a deload. This will allow you to go hard and heavy for several weeks, and then take a lighter week to recover.

104) How wide should your squat stance be? Get in a position like you were guarding someone in basketball and check your foot width. This should be about your squat stance width.

105) Do not squat with your knees forward. Knee angle should match toe angle, and toe angle for most is about 30 degrees. During squats your toes and knees should never be pointed straight ahead.

106) Believe in your workout plan. If you won't trust it will yield results, why are you using it?

107) Eat when you're hungry. This is simply good old fashioned common sense.

108) Snacks in between meals don't have to be complicated. Fruit, protein shakes, whole milk, almonds and nuts, string cheese, protein bars and beef jerky are all simple but solid choices.

109) Start with the basic supplements...a quality multivitamin, fish oil and whey protein. Once you are consistent with your training and making gains, then you can explore things like pre-workout formulas, BCAA drinks and creatine.

110) There's a good chance if you're an ectomorph that you might benefit from more frequent lifting. So try out a fullbody workout.

111) If you're very overweight focus on training hard and getting stronger while dropping the fat. This should be your main priority.

112) Overweight lifters who are trying to lose fat should not train with lighter weight and higher reps. Switching to lighter weights signals they body that you no longer need as much muscle tissue.

113) True plateaus take years and years to reach. Gains always slow over time. If you're adding a couple or reps to a lift each month, you're not stalling.

114) Leg presses are a good exercise, but they are not better than squats. If you want a great leg blasting tag team, use both.

115) Log your workouts. You must use some system of training your progress.

116) Avoid unmotivated training partners who are always late or rarely show up. Surround yourself with motivated people, or no one at all.

117) If you can't do bench presses because you have no spotter, use dumbbell bench presses instead.

118) If you're going to train to failure, do so only on your last set of an exercise.

119) Never waste a set. If you aren't pushing for as many reps as possible, there's no point in performing the set.

120) Always try to improve. If you performed 7 reps for an exercise last week, try for 8 or 9 this week.

121) When losing fat, rapid weight loss usually leads to rapid muscle loss. Try to lose no more than 1.5 to 2 pounds of fat per week.

122) Be careful about trusting advice focused around extremes. Most lifters are in the middle, and not utilizing extreme training or dieting practices.

123) Understand that natural muscle builders will never get as big as steroid users. It's a fairy tale to believe so.

124) If you are unsure about squat form, use goblet squats for several weeks to get the feel for the exercise.

125) Ignore extreme claims such as: "Gain 2 inches on your arms in 2 months with this bicep blaster", or "pack on 10 pounds of muscle in 4 weeks." This is simply nonsense created to get your attention.

126) Use straps if you have to on rows and pullups. Never let a sub-par grip hinder your back training.

142) Frequently tired? Use a pre-workout formula to give you an extra workout boost.

143) Workout during the time of day when you have the most energy, or when you are least likely to miss workouts.

144) Hate veggies? Dice 2 handfuls of spinach and then sautee in a frying pan until wilted. Spinach reduces down to virtually nothing, is tasteless, and can now be added into nearly any dish. Quick and easy veggies!

145) Ignore haters and detractors. Stay away from people trying to keep you from reaching your goals.

146) In a rut? Try something completely different like a 10x10 workout.

147) There is no need to frequently test your max. Get out of this habit and focus on muscle building.

148) Stop believing that days off are wasted time. Get a life outside of the gym.

149) Attend a local bodybuilding competition. This is a great motivator, and it's cheap!

150) Train like you are expecting to be lifting at age 70. Beating yourself up occasionally is fine. Hard training is hard. But don't overdo it. Get in, work hard and get out!

About The Author

Steve Shaw is an experienced raw masters powerlifter with over 31 years of iron game experience. His best competition lifts are a 602.5 pound squat, a 672.5 pound deadlift, and a 382.5 pound bench press. Steve is also known as a powerbuilder. His goal is to help others build as much muscle and strength as humanly possible.

I am 68 years old, healthy except gradually developing feelings of weakness and tiredness. I do my own housework, I am in full time work, quite active, exercise with a band and aerobic, have always done quite regularly. Can you help or do you only write for young people.
Kindest wishes,
Sharanjeet (Ms)

1. Dont count reps. Count seconds that your muscles are under stress. Do Slow reps.
2. Eat as much as you can of the good things and only a little of the bad things. Fill up on the good
stuff like fruits, vegetables and protein.
3. Workout every 3 or 4 days. Rest in between but do some stretching and some aerobics.
4. Stretch your muscles.
5. Eat a good breakfast and a big mid-day meal. Fruit, vegetables and some protein for evening.

Hey there Steve. I started training 6 months ago, and because of being a night worker, my entire schedule is completely different from everyone else's. I work 11 to 7 in the morning, I go home, get some sleep until around 3-4 PM, hit the gym, then rest a bit before going back to work. How should I plan my meals? I usually get something to eat before going to bed in the morning, a shake after waking up, one after getting out of gym, and a couple of snacks before work. Is that OK? Thanks.

Im female and have been working out consistently for a while now ( including a couple of weights classes a week) but have only recently become serious about gaining some muscle. I am already lean and toned but want to take it a bit further but need nutrition advice, i know i am supposed to increase my daily intake to gain muscle but am reluctant to in case too much is fat, so i want to be pretty spot on, what do i do?
I am 5ft6, 113 pounds and 19 years old

Hey Steve, great article! Me and a few friends are working on muscle building and using these tips, and they're working great! One personal problem I've experienced is that my right pec is lacking in size compared to my left one. It's nothing substantial, but noticeable to me. I'm not even sure why. I've checked myself countless times on my form and nothing is uneven about it. I've even gone as far to tape it to make sure. Any advice?

hi Steve..
i started training 3days ago but its not my first time to train i have trained before just for physical fitness.Now i went on a break of like 4months n am back but this time am serious about it n i want to gain muscle n i mean serious muscle.I have had an option for steroids but they are too expensive for me to be able to purchase..Could you please take me through some steps to gain good results..am in Kenya n the gym that i go to is not state of the art but can work with..some assistance please

I have a bad back and shoulder, i have done body building before but my back keeps me from progressing further how would i go about building my back up so my body doesn't grow weaker, age 22 height 5'8 weight 142

Enjoyed reading this article. I have been told that fat will naturally come off as you slowly build more and more muscle. So don't worry, in a sense, about losing fat. It should come naturally. Any advice or thoughts on that?

With more muscle you'll be more effective at burning fat. You shouldn't expect to lose fat while building muscle however. After your'e happy with the amount of muscle you've gained, it would be time to change goals and focus on losing fat.

Hey Steve,
Ive always wanted to bulk up so i started on the mass gainers, ive put on a fair bit of weight and am quite proud of chest,arms,legs size etc, but i have one problem, with mass gaining came abit of the tummy weight and slight love handle look, any tips on decreasing them, much appreciated

A bit of fat gain should always be expected when bulking. I wouldn't worry about it too much. When your'e happy with the amount of muscle you've built, it will be time to cut and you can get rid of that belly fat.

Thanks so much for those pearls of wisdom. You've probably saved me years of trial and error. I've ineffectively dipped in and out of weight training for 5 years now, with the typical accompanying splurges on a variety of supplements I don't understand and complicated programmes.
6 weeks ago I threw all supplements out except the multi-vitamin, cod liver oil and some protein shakes and now stick to one chest day, one back day and a leg day each week, with a mixture of rep ranges and as many compound exercises as possible. Keep It Simple Stupid certainly applies to beginners like me.
I'm glad to hear it'll be years before I hit a plateau, for now I'll stick to the basics.

Thanks for the article.
As a female beginner lifter, how many additional calories should I eat on lifting days (3 days), how many on resting days(2 days), and how many on cardio days (2 days)?
My RMR is 1510.
Thanks,
Maia

"Think" is the key word. The more precise you are with counting calories and monitoring your diet, the more precise results tend to be. I would start with around 1600-1800 calories per day, focus on progression of weight, take before and after pictures, and monitor the scale for a month. Try to lose about 1.5 pounds per week and adjust calories as needed.

...and actually, I was counting calories, on the advice of a paid dietician who told me to eat between 1900-2500 calories per day to gain muscle. When I saw her I weighed 135....I wish I had read this article first.
I appreciate your thoughts.

hi steve ..really a great article.I wanted to tell you about my workout program to see if it is ok.I do chest-biceps on monday,shoulders-triceps on sunday,cardio-abs
on wednesday,legs on thursday,back on friday,and cardio-abs on saturday.i want to know what you think or what you may suggest

Steve, do you have any tips about training around elbow pain? Tendonitis in particlar? I have been trying to train around the pain for a couple months now with only minor success . Basically I do all my rowing and pushing movements w a false grip, do not do direct arm training, and have substituted squats w hack squats.

I have recently started going gym about 2 months ago and I am looking to put on a bit of muscle. However I had a car accident a couple of weeks ago, and I am suffering from whiplash. Would you recommend doing minimal weights for squats and deadlifts and then slowly building up good form so I have minimal risk for injury, or just staying away altogether until I have finished physio?

I would contact your physician and see what he recommends. If he says you can lift, I would definitely take ti very easy for a few weeks. It's always a good idea to start back slow and steady after any type of injury.